1. Field to which the invention relates
The present invention relates to a magnetically operated closure for an intestinal orifice.
2. The prior art
Closure devices for artificial or natural intestinal orifices have been proposed for example in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,565,073, 3,083,704, 2,243,529 and 3,952,726.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,726 G. R. Hennig and K. G. Hennig, discloses a magnet arrangement which is implanted in the abdominal wall of the patient and surrounding the intestine in the vicinity of the orifice. A closure lid is provided which comprises magnetic material so that it is attracted by the implanted magnet arrangement to close the intestinal orifice. The implanted magnet arrangement can for example consist of an axially magnetised ring of a samarium-cobalt alloy, which is enveloped in a tissue-compatible material as for example polyoxymethylene (POM).
The closure device of the above mentioned type has been found highly satisfactory in practise; however, there are some applications for which it is not particularly suitable for example in the case of corpulent patients with a thick abdominal wall and in the case of an obliquely opening intestine. Furthermore the lid is often found to be troublesome when stooping and sitting.